Great information here. Nice to see some familiar names and faces.
Can the classroom issue be clarified for me? If a building has classrooms and office spaces, the transient students are not counted, only those occupants (administrators, etc) who regularly arrive there?
Dan mentioned above that EBOM requires 80% to extrapolate, but SCAQMD only requires 60%, and that SCAQMD takes precidence if you are in their area of responsibility. The project I am working on is within the SCAQMD zone, so can we use the 60% for extrapolation?
Thanks in advance!
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Dan Ackerstein
PrincipalAckerstein Sustainability, LLC
LEEDuser Expert
819 thumbs up
October 11, 2010 - 2:41 pm
Correct on classrooms - In most instances, classrooms either host very short term occupants (college students moving from room to room all day) or children who are probably not considered 'commuters' in any reasonable sense. Focus on the full time occupants in that instance. And in terms of the 'jurisdiction' issue, you are correct there again - if you are in the SCAQMD zone, their rules supercede USGBCs. The same goes for any local/regional alternative transportation program that meets the description provided in the Reference Guide. The USGBC rules only apply to buildings where other government entities aren't evaluating alternative transport use for other purposes.
Lisa Tholen
FounderTholen Sustainability Group
21 thumbs up
October 18, 2010 - 4:59 pm
Dan,
I just took a more close look at the SCAQMD rule 2022, and it appears that I was mixing two issues together on the percentages required. Rule 2022 says: "The response rate to the survey must be at least 60 percent of those employees who report to the worksite during the window. The remaining non-responses over 60 percent to 100 percent shall be treated as single occupant vehicle commuters." It looks like you have to get a minimum of a 60% response rate for the calculations to be considered valid, whereas EBOM does not require any minimum response rate.
Rule 2022 does not appear to allow extrapolation, as all non-respondents are considered single occupant commuters, but EBOM does allow you to extrapolate if you receive an 80% response rate.
So, if we are SQAMD area, and it takes precidence, it would appear that you cannot extrapolate even if you do get 80% participation?
Lisa
Dan Ackerstein
PrincipalAckerstein Sustainability, LLC
LEEDuser Expert
819 thumbs up
October 27, 2010 - 1:27 pm
That's a really interesting question Lisa, and one that I don't think has been officially answered. If I were in your shoes, I would argue that SCAQMD-reporting projects should be allowed to extrapolate beyond 80% response rate just as non-SCAQMD projects are for EBOM purposes. I can't think of a reason why the GBCI would have a problem with that, as the methodologies are consistent throughout. It makes sense! (But maybe don't plan on that point as your 40th. . . )